This invention relates to apparatus for scanning a graphic original to produce a facsimile signal and for recording such a signal as an image of the original on a record medium.
Facsimile scanners and recorders for converting graphic images to electrical facsimile signals and vice versa are well known in the art. Typically, in facsimile scanners of the prior art, various movable slots, mirrors or other mechanical elements have been used to scan a document line, for example by moving a light spot across the width of the document or by moving the effective aperture of a photodetector across the width of the focused image. In all of those systems, the size and effective mass of the moving elements is quite large, limiting the frequency at which lines can be scanned without excessively large accelerating forces. Attempts to increase the operating frequency by reducing the effective mass of the moving elements only increase the susceptibility of these elements to the jarring effects of mechanical vibration.